Pop culture Q&A

October 16, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

By Rich Heldenfels

Q. We started watching a miniseries of “The Borgias” on Showtime last season thinking it would be completed in one season. They stopped short of the whole story. Do you know if it is going to pick up again?

A. Yes. The series starring Jeremy Irons will return to Showtime in 2012.

Q. I read that Mark Harmon was to play the part of Deputy Police Chief Lucas Davenport in a movie based on the best-seller series “Prey” by author John Sandford, and filming was to begin this past May. Any word on when it will be televised on USA?

A. Harmon will star as Davenport in a TV-movie called “Certain Prey,” based on the 10th book in Sandford’s series. It will air Nov. 6, after a marathon of repeats of Harmon’s NCIS series. And if the movie is successful, there will be plenty of inspiration for more movies; the “Prey” series consists of 21 books so far.

And now another NCIS-related question.

Q. On “NCIS,” the character Mike Franks died. What is the name of the gentleman who played Franks, and did that gentleman actually die — or just the character?

A. Muse Watson, who played Franks, is still with us at this writing. You may know him as Charles Westmoreland on “Prison Break,” or from his work in the movie “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and its sequel. (His work in those movies also led to a memorable appearance on “Saturday Night Live” with Jennifer Love Hewitt, who had starred in the films.) You can see more about him at www.musewatson.com.

Q. Do you know why FitTV has changed its format and taken all the wonderful exercise programs off the normal viewing times? Is there a chance they will change it?

A. Discovery Communications, whose many channels include FitTV, renamed it Discovery Fit & Health several months ago and changed the program lineup to include many shows from the old Discovery Health channel. As the New York Times reported, Discovery Health was turned into the Oprah Winfrey Network, and the adjustment in FitTV gave Discovery Health fans a place to find some of their favorite programs. But something had to go on FitTV in the readjustment, and exercise programs were severely cut back.

Q. About two months ago I read a review of a movie about the man who was the body double of Saddam’s son, and I have forgotten the name of it. Please tell me the name.

A. That would be “The Devil’s Double,” a film starring Dominic Cooper. Reviews were mixed, and it was not widely shown; Box Office Mojo says it was in 89 theaters at its peak. But it will be on DVD and Blu-ray on Nov. 22.

Q. I’m looking for a movie from the ’50s or ’60s perhaps. It’s called “Cuba Crossing,” starring Stuart Whitman, I think. Any chance I can get a copy?

A. Stuart Whitman and Robert Vaughn are among the stars of the 1980 movie about an attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro. According to Leonard Maltin’s movie guide, it also has been called “Kill Castro,” “Assignment: Kill Castro,” “The Mercenaries” and “Sweet Violent Tony”; the Internet Movie Database has a poster image calling it “Sweet Dirty Tony.” Tony was Whitman’s character. I have seen DVDs of it for sale on Amazon.com, but customer comments there include several complaints about the technical quality of the videos.

Q. What was the name of the show where Jonny Miller played a lawyer and heard George Michael’s music all the time?

A. Jonny Lee Miller played a lawyer on the ABC drama “Eli Stone,” which aired for a total of 26 episodes in 2008 and 2009. Its two seasons have been released on DVD, and episodes are available online at Hulu.com.

2011 the Akron Beacon Journal

Distributed by MCT Information Services